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Hamtramck's new Film Lab will start screening offbeat and foreign films Oct. 19

The Film Lab, a new Hamtramck venue for foreign and offbeat films, will screen its first title Oct. 19 in a former veterans hall.

“The Lure,” described as “a cannibal mermaid musical from Poland,” will be shown in a 50-seat downstairs bar-turned-movie venue at 3105 Holbrook Ave. Eventually, the former Polish Legion of American Veterans building will have two upstairs screening rooms in what was once a ballroom.

The space will be open 5 p.m.-midnight Oct. 18, but no film will be screened. “It's just a chance for the community to see what we've done with the space,” says Josh Gardner, who co-founded the Film Lab with Lara Sfire.

Other October programs will include Bloody Sundays featuring horror films screened at brunch time accompanied by Bloody Mary drink specials. A November film series will pay tribute to the screen collaborations between filmmaker Pedro Almodovar and actor Antonio Banderas in honor of their latest project, “Pain and Glory.”

Thursday and Sunday nights will be reserved for new releases from contemporary world cinema. “The Load,” a Serbian suspense thriller, plays Oct. 24 and 27.

Films will be projected digitally on a 110-inch diagonal screen with a THX stereo sound system. Admission will generally be $8 and $5 for late-night programs.

Gardner has been screening movies in other Detroit-area venues under the name Cinema Lamont for the past four years. He met Sfire, a Grosse Pointe native and New York University graduate, in 2017, and the two decided to open a theater.

“There are so many great film releases that come to other cities and bypass Detroit,” says Gardner. “Film Lab will be a great place not only to see a movie but to hang out and discuss it afterwards.”

The Film Lab concept is part of a growing trend. Venues called microcinemas are showing films in small spaces to niche audiences, and they often offer food and drink to make film viewing a more social event.

Gardner and Sfire plan to schedule pop-up restaurant events at their venue. In the meantime, they're offering an extensive drink menu. The beer lineup reflects the international flavor of the space and includes imports from as far away as Germany and Singapore.

The Film Lab was just awarded a $100,000 Knight Foundation grant to proceed with upstairs renovations that the founders hope to complete by the end of 2020.

Sfire says that most of the $160,000 she and Gardner have spent on the building so far has gone for plumbing and electrical upgrades and the purchase of a liquor license.

Both of them want to stress to cinephiles that the bar-movie concept doesn't necessarily mean an end to standard cinema etiquette.

“This is not brew-and-view, where the movie is just on in the background," Sfire says. “Yes, you can quietly order a drink or popcorn at the far end of the bar, but the viewing experience is still front and center."